Ratchet and Clank: The First War
by DrakeStrider
Summary: During a stormy night the duo is visited by a person who carries a great burden. Ratchet is given the chance for more answers to his past, but some memories...are best left forgotten. One by one the secrets of his family start play out and soon Ratchet starts to realize that the true Lombax secret...was not the dimensionator itself...but what it was first used for...
1. The Storm

**Ratchet and Clank: The First War**

* * *

This is a remake of an older story that I made a while back, I´ve been building up on my experience and I decided to rewrite the story Hearts of Cold Blood. And I´m gonna make sure that this time I will do it without flaw for the sake of the readers entertainment. So without further ado...enjoy.

* * *

The rain dropped heavily on the streets of Meridian city. Recently a massive storm had surrounded more than a third of the whole planet. No one was allowed outside at the risk of getting blown miles away.

Yet still someone out there had the nerve to step out, someone who was either mad...or had simply nothing to lose.

A tiny figure ran as quickly as it could, using it´s small legs to the fullest. A large gash on it´s side indicated a struggle, a recent struggle.

As it continued to run the more it´s vitality was drained. The creature was losing a lot of blood...

Eventually it seemed to have found it´s destination...

A large house on the edge of the civil district, it looked different from the other houses but not so different that people would notice.

The figure ran with it´s last remaining strength to the door and attempted to ring the bell. The thundering storm did not make this easy either...

Soon after the lights had been turned on from the inside the door opened.

A small mechanical being stood in the doorstep, puzzled.

The one who had rung the bell appeared to be a Terachnoid, a very old Terachnoid. He looked distressed was the robot´s first thought before he noticed the massive wound in his side.

The Terachnoid tried to speak but his his throat was drier than the sands of Tabora. Before he could try any more he fell to the ground, blood flowing from the wound.

„Ratchet! Get down here now!" The robot yelled in despair. Down the stairs came a tired Lombax who didn´t seem to be aware of the situation. „What do you want Clank?" He said, his eyes barely open.

But it took him only half a second to smell the scent of blood. His expression changed dramatically as he noticed the bleeding body on his doorstep.

He ran immeadiately to his friend´s side who was observing the Terachnoid. Having well gifted sight, the Lombax noticed something in the Terachnoid´s grip.

A green cannister, that seemed flowing with energy. The Lombax took it from the Terachnoid and examined it. He was clearly used to all kinds of machinery but this kind of object he had never seen.

But the Terachnoid seemed to realize that the cannister was in the Lombax´s possession. For just a brief moment he opened his eyes and spoke...

„You seek answers Ratchet...about who you are..." He said with a dying voice. „This capsule holds the darkest secret your race has ever sealed...within it you will find the answers that you seek..." The Lombax listened intensely.

„But I warn you..." The Terachnoid used a different tone. „You may not like what you find, and if I were you I would destroy this object now. But if you really want answers...then it will lead you to them..." With those final words the Terachnoid coughed heavily and let out a gasp of air...it was evident...he was dead.

And just as he breathed his last, a massive bolt of lightning struck very close to the house.

Ratchet looked again at the cannister in his hand...and felt almost...as it was whispering to him.


	2. The Key to it All

**The First War**

Clank walked up the stairs leading to Ratchet´s room. The storm had passed and it was safe to venture outside once more.

The Terachnoid who had visited them the night before had been given a proper burial, although his identity remained a mystery. The Meridian defense force had been completely unable to identify him, even with the technology at their disposal.

Ratchet had decided not to tell them anything about the object he had been given and for good reason...

He had spent nearly every hour since he got it, pondering it´s purpose. It was some sort of compound used to store massive amounts of energy, so whatever the green stuff in it was...it was powerful.

As to how he would unlock it´s meaning, Ratchet was clueless...

Clank entered his room quietly and slowly walked to his side. Ratchet sat on his bed and examined the cannister as gently as he could.

„What do you think he meant Clank?" Ratchet began. „The darkest secret your race has ever sealed? What was he trying to tell me?" He asked not taking his eyes of the device.

Clank did not answer immeadiately. „I would suggest that maybe the Lombaxes did something they regretted later..."

„Like what?" Ratchet replied and took his eyes away from the device. „I do not know Ratchet, all I do know is that whatever secret the Lombaxes kept, it is a secret worth keeping" Clank said decisively.

Ratchet didn´t push the issue further. He looked as closely as he could and tried to find some detail he may have missed, something that could tell him how to activate the device.

Clank knew what he was doing...and he did not like it.

„Ratchet I know that you have unanswered questions, but whatever this device is it is risky to use it" Clank said in a convincing tone. „And how would you know? If I know my devices then this is not a potential weapon" „Then what is it?" Clank crossed his arms.

Just as Ratchet was about to come with an answer he felt a small tingling feeling in his palm. He stopped dead and felt another more evident tingle. And then he realized the device was vibrating.

Clank noticed too and looked intensely at the cannister, waiting for something to happen. The vibrations became more and more clear until eventually it hurt to hold it.

Ratchet was about to put it down on the table when suddenly a stream of energy ran up his arm, causing a spasm of pain.

In the flash Ratchet dropped the cannister and it fell to the floor. The minute the object hit the floor, it broke...and only milliseconds later a massive vortex opened up.

A huge swirling portal that filled nearly the entire room. Ratchet felt himself being sucked into it but for some reason Clank seemed unaffected. Powerless to stop it Ratchet was sucked into the vortex faster then he expected and the last thing he saw was Clank trying to go after him but failing as the portal closed behind Ratchet...

* * *

Every night I´ll put out a new chapter, so if you´re an impatient reader you´re in luck. Please remember to review and give me your opinions :)


	3. Another World

**The First War**

Ratchet nearly lost consciousness as he was sucked deeper into the vortex. Around him he could see nothing but bright green light. The longer he was embraced by this whirlpool of energy the more of his conscious he lost.

However, after five minutes of the wild ride there seemed to be an end to it all. Ratchet saw an end to the tunnel, it looked like he was being vomitted up by a monstrous maw.

Ratchet fell from the portal which immeadiately closed behind him. The strain of riding through that rift had left Ratchet too tired to walk, before falling asleep he managed to see some of his surroundings.

He was in a vast jungle, with trees as high as some of the Meridian buildings. The sky however was sickly green, much like the Blarg home world of Orxon.

_Three hours later..._

Ratchet´s eyes slowly opened and to his shock he was not in his room. He jumped up nervously, and then he started to remember. The Terachnoid, the object, and the vortex.

Ratchet looked for signs of the portal or any hint as to how he would get back home. The portal had left a scorch mark where Ratchet had emerged. He searched the ground for anything of interest and found something glittering in the dirt.

It was a tiny crystal, it glowed just as green as the cannister had, and Ratchet wondered if that was really a coincidence. He put the crystal into his pocket and decided to explore this jungle.

Step by step he ventured deeper into the thick, he could not see any signs of wildlife though the plantlife was quite vivid. He must have seen at least fourty different plants after only a minute on the walk.

Ratchet walked for a good half hour or so, it was then when he found something. After walking through thorny bushes and getting a few scratches here and there he saw what appeared to be a small crater.

He was astounded, in the middle of the crater he could see some sort of altar. He went closer to inspect it. Runes were written all over it in a language Ratchet did not understand. The were four unusual daggers stuck in each corner and finally there was a metal box in the middle of it.

Ratchet felt an eerie feeling from the altar, whatever it was it felt _unnatural._ But still his unsatable curiosity got the better of him, slowly he opened the box to reveal the contents.

Ratchet´s skin crawled...

In the box there was a dismembered hand. A green, scaly and bloody hand. With claws the lenght of a knife set. But the worst part was the foul odor that reeked from it. It smelled like elemental rot.

Ratchet immeadiately closed the box and left the crater in a hurry. Whatever this place was he wanted to get away from it as fast as possible.

But now Ratchet had something to fear...

If the naitives of this world chop off hands and put them in boxes...then how would they react to an outsider?

Ratchet tried to push these thoughts away but only to add to his worries and fears he heard a sound. Ratchet could tell something was moving in the grass around him. His highly evolved ears gave him that advantage.

Suddenly it stopped, but Ratchet didn´t move a limb. He was at the height of his fear, had he his arsenal then maybe it would have been different but he was alone, unarmed in a wilderness dominated by unknown savages.

Ratchet waited long for more movement but still nothing happened, eventually he was convinced the creature had left. He walked slowly away from the thicket and breathed a sigh of relief.

But sadly sight is not something Lombaxes are highly evolved in. If that were the case then maybe he would have noticed the yellow eyes in the grass, staring silently at him as he falsely believed he was safe...


	4. A Place of Nightmares

**The First War**

Night had descended on this strange jungle and Ratchet decided to call it quits for now. He made a small campfire, ignoring the risk of attracting unwanted attention.

The nights were especially dark in this land and just then Ratchet saw his first signs of wildlife. He could hear the strangest of sounds echoing all across the jungle. Some sounded like amphibians, others sounded like herbivorous mammals.

At first Ratchet was annoyed at the nonstop sound fest, but as it passed on he sort of started to enjoy the noise. Sort of like nature´s anthem.

But just as Ratchet was about to fall asleep there was a change of hearing material. The sounds of docile, plant eating creatures were replaced by horrific snarling, roaring and hissing. Ratchet also heard the anguished squeals of the herbivores as the were torn apart by a bloodthirsty predator.

Ratchet put out the fire immeadiately and hoped that whatever caused the sudden bloodbath had not seen it´s light. He curled under some grass and hoped to live through the night.

But soon after he lied down, he heard something...it couldn´t be...it had to be his imagination. He could have sworn he heard the predators...talking to each other...

_Two hours later..._

While Ratchet managed to fall asleep, his dreams were not so easy to deal with. In his dreams he saw disturbing images, he was being chased through the jungle, by what he did not know. Blood soaked the very earth beneath him, the trees tried to grab him with their moving limbs and hold him as he was caught by his chaser.

Ratchet avoided the trees by the scrape of his skin, but now he faced another obstacle. He was surrounded by deep pools of mud. Ratchet attempted to jump over them but felt something pulling him into the sludge.

He could see a large skeletal hand pulling him by his feet into the deep mud. No matter how hard he tried to break free he could not, the arm was too strong. He was embraced by the mud completely but he did not feel a need to breathe, he could see faintly as one could in simple water.

But this was not good. He would rather have drowned in the filth than face what came for him now. A gigantic shadow of a skull came towards him, it´s mouth open. The skull seemed like it belonged to some sort of reptilian leviathan. It only got closer and closer until eventually it became so big Ratchet could no longer see the top of it.

He couldn´t swim, he couldn´t struggle, all he could do was watch as this monstrosity devoured him.

As he was about to sink into the creature´s gut, Ratchet´s terrible nightmare ended. He awoke with a scream and gasped for air. It took him several minutes to realize that he was awake and out of that terrible dilemma.

Night was still at it´s peak but not a single sound could be heard. He was completely alone. He hoped.

Ratchet couldn´t sleep after that experience, so he decide to go for a small walk. As risky as that was, after what he had faced in his dreams no predator could frighten him, even if they were sentient.

He walked for a long time, until he found himself at a strange ruin. He could see markings that seemed to be a few hundred years old. It was obvious this land was inhabited, but were they really so aggresive?

Ratchet was about to explore more of the place but suddenly he felt very tired, out of nowhere a haze of exhaustion fell over him and in only a matter of seconds he was on the ground...asleep.

There was only one thing that he could understand before his eyes closed, someone had caused him to fall asleep...

The voice that he heard faintly was evidence of that.

* * *

Please don´t forget to review, feedback gives me reason to write.


	5. The Wraith

**The First War**

During the rest of the night Ratchet slept deeper than he had ever, and sadly that meant more nightmares. Nearly every remaining hour his dreams displayed horrible visions. Most often involving him, trapped in some sadistic game.

But there was more...

Rarely he would dream about other things. At one point he found himself in a burning ruin, surrounded by dead Lombaxes. In the center there was one who still breathed...

Ratchet moved closer to him...

No...there was only one Lombax who could like that. Ratchet felt extreme sorrow. He looked at the Lombax and whispered...

„Father..."

Kaden, Ratchet´s father looked him in the eye. He seemed...angry. But then something horrifying happened. Kaden started to change, his body morphed hideously into something straight out of a nightmare.

The menacing creature that now stood before him spoke with a voice that made Ratchet´s bones shake.

„_**I have waited fifty thousand years for this day! At last this long war...will come to it´s final conclusion!" **_

„What war? What are you talking about?" Ratchet stammered. He was not afraid of many things but this being was nothing like what he had faced before.

„_**You shall find out soon enough little Lombax..but now you will enter a world of suffering, a world where your kin is the very soul of hatred. You will be tormented until you have found the answer to your woes" **_The dark creature stopped for a minute.

„_**But if you fail...then you will die from YOUR DAMNATION!" **_With that said the being laughed like a demon of the worst kind.

„_**We will meet again Lombax...and then we shall see the outcome of your torment! If you survive, then perhaps you will become who you are destinied to be...but you were sent here so that prophecy would be broken! But you still have a chance..."**_

„_**If you wish to live Lombax, then you better work harder than you ever have!"**_

The creature laughed again and vanished into a wormhole. And so the entire nightmare started to break apart.

_In the waking world..._

Ratchet awoke with a gush of ice cold water to the face. He coughed roughly and blinked his eyes. He could barely see his surroundings. He could tell that he was in a large dark chamber, probably a dungeon of a sort.

It took him a while to notice the ill rendered figures in front of him. Slowly his sight started to clear up.

Ratchet was startled, before him stood very large green, scaly lizard like creatures. They stood on two reversed legs, had small horns on their snouts. Long, thin fingers with sharp claws on each. Their eyes were yellow and glowed brightly.

Both of them wore armor made from dark colored metal. And they both carried the most unusual weapons. One looked like a spear and the other a blade of some sort.

Ratchet could feel his wrists were chained to the wall, so an escape was out of the question. He said nothing, just met the eyes of the lizards and waited.

For what seemed like hours, the two creatures stared at him, they didn´t say a single word , just observed Ratchet waiting for him to try something. They had obviously never seen a Lombax before but the strange familiarity in their eyes...told a different story.

Maybe they had heard of Lombaxes and were surprised to see a real live one. But Ratchet could tell they were more than just surprised...

They seemed to hate the very look of him, the longer they stared at him the more he became certain of that.

Eventually one of them turned away from him, he said something to his comrade in a language that sounded like hisses, growls and clicks. The other nodded and took one last look at Ratchet...then he left with a grin.

Ratchet swallowed as he was left alone in the darkness. He thought about what the being from his dreams had said, _Suffering..._was the the word that kept echoing in his head. What would these creatures do to him? Whatever they had planned for him...he knew it wouldn´t be pretty.

Located above Ratchet was a tiny crack in the ceiling, bright light shone through it and straight at Ratchet´s face. But suddenly a shadow fell over it. Ratchet could see the distinct shadow of someone.

It was a hooded stranger that stood over him and watched him, Ratchet felt a need to shout at him and ask him why he was there. He was clearly one of the creatures, but he somehow seemed different.

Ratchet´s head lowered, he breathed deeply and looked back up...but then he was gone...


	6. The Council of Morlokka

**The First War**

Hours had passed since Ratchet was left in the dungeon, not a single sign of life could be seen in this wretched place. It looked as if he was the only prisoner in the whole area.

Finally though the two guards returned. Their expressions, cold as stone. One of them kneeled closer to Ratchet´s face and tried to speak with him.

At first he tried the Lombax tongue, as the most obvious choice. Ratchet cursed himself for not have taken the time to learn his blood born language. When Ratchet shook his head the guard seemed extremely puzzled. Ratchet could have been implying a lot of things, like refusing to speak with him but somehow the creature understood what he meant very clearly.

He mumbled something to his partner and then attempted a different language.

The guard tried at least four languages until he eventually stumbled upon the one that was spoken by nearly every being in the universe today.

„The high chieftain wishes to speak with you, warm blood" He said with a tone of disgust.

„Then release me..." Ratchet replied confident. The guard seemed pleased with his answer and unlocked the chains.

As soon as Ratchet stood up the other guard came to him with rope and tied his hands. The three of them then proceeded out of the dungeon and up to the surface.

When they had arrived up the long stairs Ratchet could not believe his eyes. They were on the outskirts of a thriving primitive city. A massive civilization built with no technology, only wood, metal and hard work.

Even though he was being held prisoner he still could not deny the beauty of this place. Tall spires touched the sky and long rope bridges were extended to nearly every corner of the city.

It seemed like a paradise...but as Ratchet and the guards entered the great city, he soon discovered otherwise.

They entered the city gates, on the inside hundreds of the creatures went about their daily buisness. That is until they could smell the scent of a Lombax.

Ratchet had never before experienced anything as uncomfortable as this. Every single eye turned to him as he walked in tow with the guards. The noise had been unbearable when Ratchet was outside the walls, now everything struck completely dumb. Most of the faces looked at him in utter surprise others looked with fierce anger...and even others...looked hungry.

The road to the palace was long and every single second of the trip he was stared at as if he was a test target. The guards seemed very amused at this but did not show any reaction when people yelled curses at Ratchet.

Very few of the creatures actually said something though, most of them were completely without a word. But the expressions on their faces were just as bad.

Finally they reached the palace. It was the biggest spire of them all, and was decorated with large adornments. They entered the spire, and went past a row of highly disciplined guards. They were clearly the elite force.

Ratchet and the guards entered a massive hall, in the center of it a tall throne made from thorned wood was placed.

On it a blackened figure sat. He was armoured to the teeth in metal black as the void. From his helmet long horns stood and his cuirass was marked with scars of battle. Unlike the eyes of the guards, his were crimson red.

At the two sides of his throne ten meeter long tables were connected. At them more of the creatures sat with their claws crossed. They seemed like senators of some sort.

Ratchet was brought before the high chieftain, the guards pushed him to his knees and left him there. Obviously they wanted him to bow to the chieftain, even though it was against his will.

Long uncomfortable moments passed before the chieftain slowly stood up to adress Ratchet.

„You stand before the council of Morlokka little Lombax" His voice reminded Ratchet of the monster from his dreams.

„You have been accused for trespassing on our sacred ground, and for defying our laws against your kind!" The chieftain was calm, but vicious in voice.

„You may never have been taught of what happened here, oh so long ago. But during that time your race committed a terrible crime. And for that crime we were forced to create specific laws regarding all Lombaxes..."

„You will be put under these laws like any other Lombax mongrel. I do not know what you are used to on the outside, but expect all that to end as of now..." Ratchet listened to the chieftain´s voice intensely, it sounded old as well as filled with years of pain and struggle.

„The council will now decide your fate...be it mild...or grim" With that said the leader sat back down.

For the next hour the councilmen discussed the best way to deal with Ratchet. Bear in mind that none of them involved any concern for the poor Lombax.

„If I´m honest my lord, I believe we should simply dispose of him now. Quickly and quietly, as to avoid any more...problems" One of them suggested.

„I agree with Volnith, however I´m not so keen on the whole subtle and painless. I´m sure the people would have great joy to see the only Lombax seen in centuries fed to the Gorlaeth" Another said and chuckled.

„I think an execution is a waste of this perfect specimen, he looks strong enough, why not let him fight in the arena? For the amusement of the people?" More and more of these terrible possibilities flooded Ratchet´s mind. Was this where it ended? After everything he had accomplished...this would be his be his fate?

Ratchet closed his eyes. He ignored the voices around him and tried to accept his destiny...but to no avail.

He simply could not bear the thought of dying to these monsters...

Ratchet was about to spit in the face of their leader when the meeting was...interrupted...

„STOP!" A thundering voice echoed across the entire hall.

Ratchet covered his ears and turned to see who was behind this shout.

At the gates of the spire, a tall figure dressed in ancient robes stood and casted a shadow over Ratchet.

As the figure approached Ratchet could see him more clearly.

He was one of the creatures obviously and wore old, brown, torn robes. Half of his face was covered by a hood, he also carried a long wooden staff with a lantern tied to it.

He was very old. Ratchet could see from the grey, brittle scales as well as the broken teeth and spikes.

The elder walked past Ratchet and towards the leader.

„Sire, I strictly protest to this barbaric judgement..." The elder was decisive in his speech.

„And why is that Argrel? This creature has to be dealt with one way or the other. We can´t just let him roam freely in our lands!" The chieftain responded

„I realize that sire, but there has to be another way. We know nothing of this Lombax and yet you are willing to condemn him to death!"

„And I assume you have suggestion?"

„I object your lordship! This old shaman has no right to speak at this meeting!" One of the councilmen yelled.

„SILENCE! Argrel is my most trusted advisor and ally. You shall show him the same respect as you show me or risk the loss of your head!" The chieftain snapped back at the councilman, who cowered slightly behind the table.

The chieftain looked back at the elder and awaited his suggestion.

„If I may now sire, I have firm belief that this Lombax can be of great use to us, instead of finding ways to dispose of him we should try to see the better picture." The elder turned to the councilmen now.

„Lombaxes as we know them are magnificent builders as well as craftsmen. Now you can call me whatever you wish, but I believe this Lombax...was sent here for a reason. I do not know how he got here or if that was his intention, but I do know that fate made the decision that he´d end up here. For what purpose...we have yet to see..."

The chieftain seemed to be thinking this through _very_ carefully as the elder turned back to him.

„So my suggestion is sire: Let me take this Lombax into my care." At those words the whole council gasped.

„...Argrel, I have always respected your judgement and your advice has saved me and the city from oblivion countless times. But this...this Lombax will never survive out here, even under your wing he will be dead the first day!" The chieftain´s eyes narrowed.

„You should know above all sire, that under even the greatest odds...everything is possible" The elder smiled slightly.

The chieftain seemed amused at those words, for a few seconds he said nothing but eventually he made a decision.

„I will agree to this Argrel...under one condition. This Lombax will earn his keep, he shall work for his existence like any other member of this society" The leader face hardened.

„What sort of work did you have in mind, lord?" The elder asked

The chieftain took one short look at Ratchet, specifically his clean fur. He grinned wickedly and said:

„Let´s start with the mines..." His tone mocked Ratchet, and he felt the need to bash the leader´s head in, sadly that option was not exactly available.

„My decision has been made. Argrel will take the Lombax in his care and teach him our ways...the Lyzaar ways" With that said the chieftain sat down. The councilmen seemed very displeased with this, much to Ratchet´s amusement. And apparently to Argrel´s too.

„Come then Lombax...you have much to learn..." The elder said and smiled. While Ratchet did not smile back, he felt great joy. He had met one being in this world that apparently did not hate his guts.

Perhaps...he would survive after all. Perhaps the wretched shade...was wrong.

* * *

*Wipes brow* Whew. You guys better appreciate this one, took me three nights.


End file.
